its been a fabulous and very intensely creative week of shooting in the high desert of california for the past week. is it hot here? you bet it is. the bullshit about it being, “a dry heat” is a lot of bunk. its still hot. most everyone plans to shoot either in the early morning or in the later afternoon. its not so intense then and somewhat manageable. there have been a couple mornings when i actually felt a chill while hiking to a destination.
the week really started to feel like summer camp after a while! well, summer camp with lots of naked people! the inn staff really didn’t seem to mind us shooting in and around the grounds while we were there. i chose to shoot in the park quite a bit and would often come back to find someone posed near the spring or in the palm trees outside my cabin. really refreshing to have that kind of freedom to work as an artist.
the inn is actually located at the oasis of mara which are a series of natural springs in the desert. native american indians settled there and really had a wonderful life. wildlife would come to visit the spring as a watering hole and the indians could then take their pick of the game for food. they also used the springs to irrigate crops. really, the best life in a harsh desert.
while i was there, i had the chance to shoot with a lot of models that i normally wouldn’t have the chance to shoot with. one of my first interactions was with a woman named Niecy Moss. we’ve had several wonderful conversations in the past about each others’ work. i’ve always admired her work on community zoe and she’s always told me how much she admires my work as well. so, it was all but inevitable that we would work together.
she turned out to be a wonderfully creative model and brought a lot of positive energy to our collaboration. i was saddened to hear that while she was in joshua tree with us, her home was hit by hurricane ike. she was having a difficult time just getting back home since airports and trains back into Houston were not fully operational when she had to leave. i will be thinking of her as she attempts to make it back home and hope she makes it back to her family safely.
So Many Stars 